Can opener



Malrch 5, 1935. L, D, ROBERT 1,993,683

' CAN OPENER 9 Filed May 5, 1954 .j Li

Qtturncgs.

' me n vwmch Patented Mar. 5, 1935 v UNI-TEDLJ'STATES PATENT" :o i-cs CAN'OPENER Lewis David Roberts, York, Pa. Application May 5, 1934, Serial Nb. 724,160

Claims. (01. so a) This invention relates to can openers of that type utilizing a feeding wheel which co-operates witha knife whereby, following the application of the device toa can,'the rotation of the wheel will cause the end of the can to be cut out.

7 In devices of the type mentioned various means have been employed for forcing the knife into the can at the beginning of the operation. This has been accomplished frequently by swinging the wheel against the under-surface oi the bead extending around the end of the can, thereby'to cause the end of the blade to penetrate the top of the can; Such means has resulted usually in the tilting of the opener relative to -the canso that the blade has" not been held in proper or most effective position duringthe cutting action. It isan object of the present invention to mount the feeding wheel in anew and novel manner wherebyit'willibe moved ina straight line toward the blade so that therewill be notendency of the blade and other parts of the device to rock when applied to a can. v V t g Another objectds to employ-anew and novel arrangement ofco operating cams whereby the desired relative right-linemovement of the wheel and blade isobtained a A still further; obiect isto -employ operating are ;held assembled securely with the other parts of the capppener so that they will not become displaced relative to each other and willbe capable of withstandingrough use.

A further objectis to provide acan opener which'is simple and compact, can-be manufactured at low cost and can be handled readily by anyone. 7 With the foregoing and other objects inview which willappear. as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood: that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spiritof the invention as claimed, V I

In the accompanying drawing the-preferred form of the invention has been shown, Insaiddrawing p Figure 1 is a front elevation of the can opener appliedtoa can, a portion of which has been shown.; v i Figure-2'is a section on line 2- -2, Figure 1, a portion of thecan being'shown in vertical section at the pointswhere gripped and penetrated.

:Figure Bisa plan view of the structure-shown inFigureL- Figure 4 is an elevation of the can opene r with the parts inthe positions illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, and showingthat faceof the can opener opposite to the one illustrated in'Figure :1. I r n Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5, Figure 3, showing the relative positions of the cooperating cams when the handle is raised to permit application of the device to a can. t V

Figure, 6 is a similar view showing the parts in an intermediate position during the right-line movement of the feeding wheel. e u l Figure 1'7is a .view similar to Figures 5 and 6 and illustrating the. relative positions of the cams Referring to the figuresby characters of reference, 1 designates a stationary cam-plate provided with an extension 2 the end of which is bent laterally or off-set as shown at 3 to provide an abutment for one end of a blade 4. This blade is clamped detachably to one Slde Qf the extension 2 by a screw or bolt 5 or the like and one side edge of the blade bears against a laterally extended wing 6 which, as shown particularly. in Figure 3, maybe provided with a rest bar '7 adapt? ed to overlie andbear portions of the periphery of a can C. p r

The extension 2 is off-set laterallyas indicated at'8 so that thelower end of blade 4 which is reduced to form a sharp, pointed, cutting tongue 9, will be held spaced from the adjacent surface of cam 1a distance slightly greater than' the thickness of'the end bead or rim R of the can.

A guide ear or rest 10 is extended laterally. from one edge of cam 1 and its lower edge is provided preferably with notches 11 any one of which is designed to receive thetop surface of the bead R as shown, for example, in Figure 2. r

- Aspacing foot 12 is extended laterally from downwardly upon spaced the lower portionof cam 1 and is adapted to bear of the can C to which the against theside "wall to hold cam 1 at an acute opener is appliedso as angle tothe can. t Y o Cam 1' is provided with an opening 13 of peculiar configuration cam surfaces. 7 v

One cam surface 14 follows an irregular curvathe walls of which constitute ture through approximately 270, there being in- .wardly extended shoulders or abutments 15 and 16'at the ends of this cam surface and which excam' surface 17 extending through approximatetend to the ends of another rregularly curved.

floating or movable cam 18 having alining oppositely extending shoulders 19 and 20. That portion of the periphery of cam 18 connecting the outer ends of shoulders 19 and 20, is extended along an irregular curve as shown at 21, this curvature being such that when the cam 18 is in one extreme position with its shoulder 20 in contact with shoulder 16, the peripheral portion 21 of cam 18 will fit snugly against the adjacent irregularly curved portion of thecam surface 14 as shown in Figure 5. When cam 18 is in its other extreme position with shoulder 19 hearing against shoulder 15, the cam surface 14 will again snugly engaged by the peripheral portion 21 of cam 18 as shown in Figure 7. A rotation o'fc'ain 18 through 90 is necessary to bring .said cam. into one or the other of its extreme positions, as will be apparent by referring to Figuresb' and '7."

It will be noticed that the peripheral ortion 21 of cam 18 is slightly flat between its ends and as" the camsurface 14 is shaped for snug engagement with this peripheral portion, the cooperating cams tend to maintain their relative extreme positions-unless forcibly moved therefrom.

Cam 18has a reduced portion 22 extending from the-inner ends of shoulders 19 and 20. This reduced portion has its periphery made up of opposed arcuate portions 23 which come together to provide abearing 24. This bearing works upon the cam surface Hand is locatedat all times between the shoulders 15 and 1-6.

A'circula'r opening 25 is provided in the cam 18 ata point oii center, the center of the open ing being in line with the shoulders 19 and 20.

By providing co-operating cam faces'asillu'strated and described it becomes possible; by the rotation of cam 18 from oneextreme position to the other, to move the center of the opening 25 along a straight line toward and from the cutting point of the tongue 9. This will be obvious by reviewing Figures 5, 6 and '7'. Figure-5 shows the-opening 25-s'paced its maximumdistance from tongue 9. Figurelishows the opening moved part way toward the tongue and Figure '7 illustrates the position of the opening upon the completion of 'its movement in one direction. Inall of these positions the center of the-opening occupies the same line of movement. I

For *the purpose of rotating the movable or floating cam 18 there is provided an outer cover plate 26 which constantlyconce'als the outer side of opening 13 and has an'operating lever or handle 2'7 extending-therefrom. This plate may be at tached to cam 18 by a rivet 28 and has an opening 29 which registers with-opening 25.

An inner cover plate 29is provided on the inner face of cam 1 and constantly closes the in-' ner'side of opening 13. This inner cover plate is also provided with an opening 30- constantly registering with the opening 25. A cylindrical pin 31 is mounted for rotation in the coaxial openings 25, 29 and 30 and-the innerend'of this pin carries a feeding wheel 32. The wheel is formed with a toothed periphery and isof a thicknessslightl'y less than the thickness of bead R. This will be noted'by referring to Figure 2. The outer end of the pin has any suitablemeans for rotating it and the wheel. For example a turn button-ork'e y33 can be used.

The inner cover plate can be held in any suitable manner against rotation. For example it canbe formed with a laterally extended lug 34, sea-ted loosely in anotch 3 5 in cam 1 so'that it will not interfere with the right-line movement of the pin 3-1 and wheel32. I

In practice the user grasps the wing 6 in one hand and raises handle 27 to the position shown in Figure 5. The cams thus co-operate to move wheel 32 along a straight line away from tongue 9, leaving a sufiicient space between the tongue and wheel 32 to permit the out-turned bead R on can C to be inserted between the tongue and the wheel and to rest on the periphery of the wheel.

With the can C resting'on atable'or the like the user now thrusts handle 27 downwardly whereupon it moves through the position shown in Figure 6 to the position shown in Figure 7. During this operation the cams coact to pull the point of tongue 9 downwardly along a straight line tofiar'dthe center line or axis of wheel 32 with the result that said point will penetrate the top of the can close to the inner side of bead R and bind the bead upon the periphery of wheel 32. By providing foot 12 the device is held at a correct angle to the can.

- During the application 'of the can opener the rest '10 will come into contact with the bead. Thus the parts are ready to operate and the user rotates key 33 ina clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 1. This maintains the two cams in the relative positions shown "in Figure 7 and causes the wheel 32 to roll along the bottom surface of bead R, causing the bead to move backwardly under the rest 10 and forcing the sharp pointed portion 'ofthe 'tongue 9 forw ardly within the top of the can. By continuing the rotation until the can has made -a complete'revolution the entire top will be removed.

Should bar 7 be used-so "as to res'tbnithecan in front of and in back oftheblade and wheel, any tendency of the device "to tilt during the cutting operation will be overcome.

Importance is attached to the fact that'the cooperating cams produce a right-linemovemerit of the blade or tongue 9 relative to wheel 32 or vice versa and to the further fact that the acting portions of these oams are concealed and protected at all times by-the cover plates. The cams arealsoadvantageous'because of 'the powerful leverage resulting from their use'and consequent ease in eflfectin'g penetration or the can. By moving the parts in a right-line the bead will be tightly gripped so that theope'nercann'ot become separated therefrom madverte'ntl'y. A further advantageis iound in the Iactthat the cams co-operate to limit-their relative movement and no special s'topsare'hecessary. Furthermore all of the parts can be stamped readily from sheet metal and, therefore, the article may be produced at'low cost.

- Obviously change's 'can be madewithin the scope of the invention as claimed. For-example therest bar 7-might be dispensed with ;-a-cra'rik arm'could be used in lieu-"of the key or button 33; -antl the cover plate 26 might beiormed integral with the cam-'18. Whatis claimed is:

1. A can opener including a=cam having;an opening the wallsof *whichconstitute cam faces of irregular curvatures, =port'ionsof the walls providing stop shoulders between the'cani-faces, a c'ammounted-for rotation within the openingand having stop shoulders for co-operation with the first named shoulders to limit the movemrit'of the rotatablecam,-'a feeding -elementcarried by the rota'table camQ a-cuttin'g-eIement carried by the other cam,'means-for rotating the feeding 'element; and m'eans for rotating th'e rotatable cam, said cams being proportioned for constant :en

gagement one with the other and being so shaped as to impart a right-line movement to one of the elements relative to the other element when the rotatable cam is actuated. t

2. A can opener including a cam having an opening the walls of which constitute cam faces of irregular curvatures, a cam mounted for rotation within the opening, a feeding element carried by the rotatable cam, a cutting element carried by the other cam, means for rotating the feeding element, means for rotating the rotatable cam, co-operating means on the cams for limiting said rotation, said cams being proportioned for constant engagement one with the other and being so shaped as to impart a right-line movement to one of the elements relative to the other element when the rotatable cam is actuated.

3. A can opener including a cam having an opening the walls of which constitute'cam faces of irregular curvatures, a cam mounted for rotation within the opening, a feeding element carried by the rotatable cam, a cutting element carried by the other cam, means for rotating the feeding element, means for rotating the rotatable cam, co-operating means on the cams for limiting said rotation, said cams being proportioned for constant engagement one with the other and be- 7 ing so shaped as to impart a right-line movement to one of the elements relative to the other element when the rotatable cam'is actuated, and means shiftable with the rotatable'cam and movably contacting with the other cam for constantly closing the opening andconcealing the rotatable cam.

4..A can opener including a cam having an opening the walls of which constitute cam faces of irregular curvatures, a cam mounted for rotation within the opening, a feeding element carried by the rotatable cam, acutting element carried by the other cam, means for rotating the feeding element, means for rotating the-rotatable cam, co-operating means on the cams for limiting said rotation, said cams being proportioned for constant engagempntone with the other and being so shaped as toimpart a right-line movement to one of the elements relative to the other element when the rotatable cam is actuated, and a rest fixed relative to the cutting element for sliding engagement with the top surface of the bead of a can being opened. n

5. A, can opener including a cam having an opening the walls of which constitute cam faces of irregular curvatures, a cam mounted for rotation within the opening, a feeding element carried by the rotatable cam, a cutting element carried by the other cam, means for rotating the feeding element, means for rotating the rotatable cam, co-operating means on the cams for limiting said rotation, said cams being proportioned for constant engagement one with the otherjand being so shaped asto impart a right-line movement to one of the elements relative to the other element when the rotatable cam is actuated, and a rest fixed relative'to the cutting element, said rest being-notched for sliding engagement with the bead of a can being cut.

LEWIS DAVID ROBERTS. 

